In his 20’s, working an office job he hated, Tom woke up in the middle of the night with a wild idea: why not take people on bike trips? No playbook. No investors. Just a sense that he could make a living doing what he loved. His first trip? Four guests riding through Death Valley, pitching their own tents. From there, Backroads scaled to hotels, while weathering a bike burglary, a van rollover in the desert, 9/11, the Great Recession, and a pandemic that brought tourism to a halt.
Today, Backroads runs 5,000+ trips a year in 60+ countries.
This is a masterclass in savvy cash flow, scrupulous quality control, and dogged iteration. If you care about travel, brand, or building a services business at scale—listen to this.
